I Can't Relate
by Amiella Rogue
Summary: Sarah is Coach Yoast's 16 year old niece, and her mother dies...this forces her to live with him during the Titans year of integration. She knows Alan, Ray, and Gerry. AU, romance, and review with constructive critizism.


I Can't Relate  
  
She rushed quickly towards her house…something was wrong. She could feel it in her heart and soul, but couldn't make her body run any faster. Her fiery red hair blew behind her as she ran, and then entered her silent house. Silent? What had happened to all the earlier noise? She darted up the stairs to her mother's room, and then threw open the door.  
  
"Mom?" She called softly.  
  
There was no reply. She slowly, hesitantly approached the bed where her mother's prone body lay. She checked her mother's pulse in a real frenzy…she found nothing. It had finally happened, the illness had taken her mother's life. She flung her body backwards as if burned. Her mom was dead and she'd been touching a lukewarm corpse…it was unnerving.  
  
She fled swiftly down stairs and grabbed the phone…she quickly called the hospital to let them know, and then waited for someone to come and help her. She was only a soon-to-be junior this coming school year…hardly mature enough to handle this. Plus her mom had only one other relative and he lived in Virginia. How was a sixteen year old supposed to deal with having no one?  
  
"We're going to have to send you to Virginia to live with your uncle. I'm sorry, Sarah." The lady who the hospital sent said.  
  
She brought her bags and watched as her uncle Yoast came up in his car with Sheryl. He helped her get her bags in the car, and then drove her to his house. He had a grim expression, but seemed glad to see her. Sarah hadn't seen him since she was younger, because her mother had gotten slightly better. She felt numb…it wasn't fair. Her mom had been sick for most of her life, and when she was getting better…god had taken her away.  
  
"I've enrolled you in school for this year at T.C. Williams High School. We may be moving soon…I have been fired. Coach Boone has taken my place…the school's are integrating." Yoast explained.  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that, Coach." Sarah said.  
  
She settled in quickly, and a few days later she was almost normal…as if she'd erased her past and created a new life. Sheryl and her became like sisters in one day…both were kind of tomboys, but Sarah was older and still acted like a girl. Yoast accepted her more then her sick mother had. Terminal illness had kept her mother testy and a little incoherent. Sarah was making a mental list of how life was better with the Yoast's when there came a knock on the door.  
  
"I'll get it!" Sheryl cried.  
  
"Race you." Sarah said running.  
  
Sheryl managed to open the door laughing, but sobered at the sight of the black man standing there. Sheryl was suddenly bad mannered to the man. Sarah didn't understand why her cousin was being such a little brat, and she flicked Sheryl's arm when the girl had said something really rude. The man was Coach Boone, but was that any reason for Sheryl to try and shut the door…thank goodness Yoast grabbed it before she could. The Yoast's weren't really racists…and Sarah wasn't at all. Coach and Boone went off to Coach's office to talk.  
  
"Why'd you flick me?" Sheryl whined.  
  
"Because you were being rude, and disrespectful to him." She answered before leaving.  
  
Sarah wanted to hear what Boone had to say…she listened in, and heard that Boone was offering her uncle an assistant job. Coach was far too proud to take it though. She felt disappointed, but it did seem sort of presumptuous to offer the ex-head coach to be your assistant after they fire him to give you the job. Then again, it was a nice gesture, and deserved to at least be considered. Coach had just said no flat out…that wasn't right.  
  
"What were you doing?" Sheryl questioned innocently.  
  
"Being a naughty person and eavesdropping." She replied as she brushed the lock of curly golden hair out of Sheryl's face.  
  
"What'd you hear?" Sheryl wondered, bright blue eyes shining.  
  
"Not much." Sarah lied while trying to keep her green eyes from looking into Sheryl's.  
  
A couple nights later Yoast sat that he was going to announce that they were probably going to move and that he was taking time off of coaching, and Yoast said she could tag along. Sarah was excited…she'd see the boys she'd hung out with years before. Alan Bosley, Gerry Bertier, and Ray Budds were her friends when she had visited so long ago…she'd played with them. Sometimes even football, her and Alan made a good team.   
  
"Hi, Alan!" She greeted enthusiastically.  
  
Alan's jaw dropped, a pretty girl was talking to him, and she seemed to know him. She looked familiar…  
  
"It's me, Sarah." She stated happily.  
  
"Sarah, wow…you've grown up. You're not in pigtails, and you don't have on pants." He said surprised.  
  
"I grew up, silly. You don't seem to have changed that much." She smiled sweetly.  
  
Same blond hair, same goofiness, same style, and he still played football. The only thing was that he was taller, had more muscles, and was cuter then she'd remembered. He was still her friend Alan…  
  
"Hey Gerry, Ray!" Alan called over her shoulder.  
  
"What, who's this?" Gerry inquired.  
  
"Sarah Davidson." Alan replied dutifully.  
  
"Sarah?" Ray asked in awe.  
  
"Yeah, hey guys. I'm back." She said offhandedly.  
  
"What happened?" Gerry asked seriously.  
  
She looked at him for a second before responding, "My mother…she's dead."  
  
"I'm sorry." Alan fervently announced.  
  
The only thing she could think to say was, "Thank you."  
  
Ray never knew that their little 'friend' would turn out so beautiful. She was tall, slender, had long flaming red hair, emerald eyes, an hourglass figure, pale skin, and legs that went on for miles. All Alan could think was that she was wearing a lovely light pink dress, and that tackling her now would be sinful. Gerry just thought of her as the new and improved Sarah; the same kid who shoved him down in the mud and made him eat dirt.  
  
"Well…I think I'm going to go sit down." She moved towards coach Yoast.  
  
When Yoast proclaimed that they were going to move so that he could coach somewhere else due to coach Boone being in charge of coaching at T.C. Williams…everyone started protesting. No one wanted Yoast to leave the small town in Virginia. Mr. Bosley called coach Boone something that Sarah would never repeat, and thanked god that the man wasn't there to hear it. When Gerry stood she felt her heart drop to her stomach, when Ray agreed it went to her knees, and when Alan concurred with those statements her heart fell to the floor.  
  
"Coach, please! Don't let them do that. Accept the man's offer." She pleaded with Yoast.  
  
Tears stung her eyes…they'd be giving up everything if they quit. There would be no future in football for some of the guys, or they'd not be able to switch districts due to not having much money. He couldn't let them, he had to stop them, because other wise she'd…she would spend her time in sorrow over her friends and their lost futures. Yoast nodded to her, and her heart lurched up to its original place. Then she felt slightly better, but hoped he wouldn't do something rude or slightly impolite to Boone. 


End file.
